Harris reply to Eskimos' bragging? ‘They’re the best team in the world’

Blue Bombers brush off Eskimos' bluster

The Edmonton Eskimos are a confident bunch heading into their playoff matchup with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Sunday.

So confident, that defensive tackle Almondo Sewell predicted a win for his team despite the fact the Eskimos will be playing on the road.

“We’re the favourites,” he told the Winnipeg Sun on Wednesday. “We’ve got a better team than Winnipeg. We’re hitting on all cylinders right now. I believe we are the better team. We’re going to win.”

Told of that comment Thursday, Blue Bombers running back Andrew Harris had a high-roadish reply.

“Oh yeah, they’re the best in the world,” he said. “Good for you Edmonton. You guys are the best.”

These are the kinds of comments from the opposing team that often end up on the white boards in locker rooms on game day, but Bombers coach Mike O’Shea doesn’t think that will happen.

“We’ve never paid attention to anything like that,” he said. “It won’t have any effect on our guys.”

NICHOLS UPDATE

The Bombers held a closed practice on Thursday at Investors Group Field so it’s hard to give an update on the status of injured quarterback Matt Nichols.

Nichols missed the final regular-season game last Friday and has been limited in practice because of a calf injury. There’s still some question as to how much he can play in Sunday’s game, if at all.

However, O’Shea continues to say he expects Nichols to play and reported that practice went well for the No. 1 quarterback.

“He looked good today,” O’Shea said.

“He did more (than Wednesday), he’s progressing and I thought what he did, he looked good at it.”

Nichols only took a few reps in Wednesday’s practice and didn’t move around much.

Harris said he looked stronger on Thursday.

“He did,” Harris said. “He looks and feels good and I have full confidence that he’ll be in there to play a game with us.”

DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL

The Bombers announced Thursday that CJOB will retain the rights to broadcast the team’s games through the 2024 season.

There is speculation that TSN1290, Winnipeg’s only all-sports channel, was bidding to get the rights when the original contract with CJOB expired in 2018.

However, the Bombers organization is believed to have been interested in staying with CJOB, where they won’t have to compete with Winnipeg Jets broadcasts. TSN1290 holds the rights to Jets game.

The Bombers games have been on CJOB for many years and legendary broadcaster Bob Irving is a fixture calling the games. He first started as the voice of the Bombers in 1974.

TEACHER ON THE CORNER

A year ago at this time, Brandon Alexander was teaching in Florida and coaching high school basketball.

The CFL wasn’t even on his radar.

“I was basically moving on with teaching,” the defensive back from the University of Central Florida said Thursday.

“It’s kind of crazy how a year later, you can be here, in Canada, playing in the playoffs. It’s definitely life-changing.”

Alexander put the teaching career on hold and signed with the Blue Bombers in April. He knew about the Bombers from his friend from UCF, Quincy McDuffie. And he knew about the CFL because he watched games on TV with his mother when he was younger.

“I’ve been watching the CFL for a long time,” he said. “I watched it when I was in high school. I remember asking my mom what it was because it was during November and it was snowing. She said it’s professional football where you can go and play in Canada. I definitely remember that and now I’m up here.”

Alexander was voted the Bombers most outstanding rookie this season, playing mostly at cornerback. He had an interception for a touchdown last week in a 23-5 win over the Calgary Stampeders.

Teaching in Florida, a vocation he hopes to return to after football, now seems so far in the past.

“It seems like longer than a year,” Alexander said. “I can’t thank enough for this opportunity. I’m smiling because this is a dream come true for me. I’m just out here doing what I love to do. (Coming here was the) best decision I made.”

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